Homegrown netball talent Taylah Davies has been described as the "obvious choice" after being unveiled as South Coast Blaze's inaugural club captain.
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On Monday night, the region's newest netball club announced that 25-year-old Davies would lead the Blaze in their 2020 NSW Premier League campaign.
Davies, an experienced Suncorp Super Netball player, will share the Blaze's opens captaincy duties with Abbey McFadden. Katleyn Begley is the vice-captain.
Davies' appointment has been praised by McFadden, who said her teammate "was born to be a captain".
""It's a real honour, especially to be alongside the likes of Tay Davies," Balgownie's McFadden said.
"She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience so I'm definitely going to learn a lot from her. It will be such an amazing season having her lead the whole club.
"It's just really something amazing to be back on home soil and to share the captaincy title [with Davies]."
Davies announced in February that she was returning to the region to represent the Blaze in 2020. As part of her leadership duties, the Illawarra talent will also don the coveted number one dress.
Davies, a proud Illawarra District Netball Association junior, said she was honoured to lead the Blaze.
"I'm thrilled to come back home to the South Coast and put on the Blaze dress," Davies said.
"I'm also incredibly proud to lead our club and help build a pathway for elite netball on the South Coast. It is so exciting to be a part of this new franchise and I can't wait to see what we can build not just this year, but in the future."
The Blaze will kick off their Premier League campaign when they face the ERNA Hawks on Wednesday night.
It has been a long wait for Blaze players, who were ready to start playing several months ago but the competition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
McFadden, who has returned to the South Coast after representing GWS Fury in 2019, said she was "definitely excited" to play again and they would give the league a "red-hot crack".
"It's probably the longest pre-season I've ever had. I know we've been preparing as hard as we can over the past few weeks, and we have a great mix of youth and experience which I'm sure will combine really well on court," the 21-year-old said.
"The majority of us have had Premier League experience before so it's not so much about settling [into the comp]. We've already built an amazing culture at Blaze. I think all of the passion for the Blaze community and netball will show on the court throughout the whole season."
I think all of the passion for the Blaze community and netball will show on the court throughout the whole season.
- Abbey McFadden